Steria joins BAE Systems and Accenture in retiring from the race to become a main supplier to the IPS's multi-billion pound procurement

A third supplier has dropped out of the process to become a prime contractor for the National Identity Scheme.

Steria joins BAE Systems and Accenture — which cited political and commercial reasons — in retiring from the race to become a main supplier to the Identity and Passport Service's multi-billion pound procurement. The remaining potential contractors are CSC, EDS, Fujitsu, IBM and Thales.

Kable understands that Steria decided to end its bid after a review of the framework procurement process, but is still interested in acting as a sub-contractor.

"This is not a problem," said an Identity and Passport Service spokesperson, adding it was not unusual to see market consolidation in such a procurement. "We have had a very healthy level of interest from high-calibre suppliers, and this is precisely why we have run the competitive dialogue over the last few months, to make sure we have the right suppliers in the right roles."

"We are now set to issue invitations to tender next month and expect to award the framework contract in May to four or five prime suppliers," the spokesperson added. "Those suppliers can choose to supplement their capabilities with sub-contractors, and there could also be other contracts procured outside the framework which other firms would also be able to bid for."

However, Philippe Martin, senior analyst at Kable, said this was a further setback for the procurement. "This is very bad news," he said, as three potential contractors have now decided against taking responsibility for the scheme.

Steria's decision also further reduces the level of competition within the procurement, which was originally meant to result in six lead contractors. However, Martin added that the Identity and Passport Service could use this to speed up the process if it wished.

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